AURORA — What could become the most expensive and competitive U.S. House race in the country kicked off with largely symbolic events this weekend as Republican incumbent Mike Coffman and Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff rallied supporters.

Coffman is vying for a fourth term in Colorado’s 6th Congressional District. Redistricting in 2012 has shifted the 6th from a Republican stronghold to a competitive centrist seat with an electorate divided almost evenly among Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters.

Coffman and Romanoff in 2013 raised about $2 million. Romanoff, who has eschewed taking money from PACs, has about $1.6 million in the bank, and Coffman has about $1.4 million.

“I feel really good about the race,” Coffman said Saturday before he addressed an overflow of supporters at his Aurora campaign office.

“This is the first time I’ve really had the opportunity to really work the district — because before, essentially, I was a congressman for a very different district. And so 40 percent of the district is new, and I’ve been able to really concentrate on this new district since January 2013.”

“People want to know how you’re going to grow the economy, how you’re going to create jobs, how you’re going to strengthen the middle class, and that’s what our campaign is going to focus on,” said Romanoff, as supporters packed into a Mexican restaurant to nibble on tacos and sopaipillas.

Ken Salazar, former interior secretary for the Obama administration, joined Romanoff at Sunday’s event, along with several current and former state lawmakers.

Both campaigns remained cordial toward each other during the weekend, although an early message to emerge from Coffman’s campaign is to tie Romanoff to former Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Still, many political observers from both sides of the aisle think Republicans will remain in control of the House after November’s elections.

“If you’re a part of the least productive Congress in modern memory, it’s going to very difficult to run on your record,” said Romanoff about a Congress that has a national approval rating of about 12 percent.

A native of Colorado, Kurtis Lee was a politics reporter for The Denver Post from February 2011 until July 2014. He graduated cum laude from Temple University in 2009 with a degree in journalism and political science. He previously worked as an online writer in Washington, D.C., for the PBS NewsHour.

A local union president slammed by Donald Trump on Twitter stood his ground Thursday, maintaining the president-elect gave false hope to hundreds of workers by inflating the number of jobs being saved at a Carrier Corp. factory in Indianapolis.